1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device cabinet for use with thin liquid crystal televisions, for example, and particularly to a display device cabinet that is formed by joining and joining a frame-shaped front panel, which is deployed around a display surface of a display module, with a rear panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cabinet formed by joining a frame-shaped front panel with a rear panel is widely adopted in display devices such as thin televisions and photo frames, and in general, the front panel and the rear panel are individually molded from a resin with each of the front and rear panels defining an integral unit. Furthermore, in this type of cabinet, a screw fastening mechanism using attachment screws is often adopted for a fixing mechanism for joining, in an integrated manner, the front panel with the rear panel joined to the front panel.
Meanwhile, a conventional example is also known which adopts for the fixing mechanism a combination of a first fixing mechanism that uses attachment screws and a second fixing mechanism that uses no attachment screws. This conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 is sectional view of principal portions of the conventional example. This figure shows a state in which the cabinet of a vertically-placed-type thin liquid crystal television as a display device is placed in a laid-down orientation; 1 indicates a frame-shaped front panel, and 5 indicates a rear panel superimposed on the front panel 1. The front panel 1 houses a liquid crystal display module (display module) 8, and the frame-shaped front panel 1 is deployed around the display surface (not illustrated) of this display module 8. Moreover, the rear panel 5 joined to the front panel 1 is joined with the front panel 1 by the first fixing mechanism (not illustrated) that uses attachment screws at specified locations in the lower portion when the cabinet is placed vertically (locations in the vicinity of the lower ends). This first fixing mechanism is configured by screwing the attachment screws into bosses provided on the front panel 1, for example, via screw insertion holes formed in the rear panel 5. In addition, the rear panel 5 is joined with the front panel 1 by the second fixing mechanism 2 that uses no attachment screw at specified locations in the upper portion when the cabinet is vertically placed (locations in the vicinity of the upper ends).
The second fixing mechanism 2 according to the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 includes protrusions 4 arranged so as to protrude inward on the edge frame 3 of the front panel 1 that faces the outer frame 9 of the display module 8, a mating piece 6 that is provided on the rear panel 5 and that is fitted inside the edge frame 3 of the front panel 1 in an overlapping manner, and engaging openings 7 that are provided in the mating piece 6 and that respectively mate with the protrusions 4.
As was described above, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, the front panel 1 and the rear panel 5 are joined and joined by a fixing assembly including a combination of the first fixing mechanism and the second fixing mechanism 2. In this conventional example, the following work is performed in the cabinet assembly process: the rear panel 5 is carried in as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 6 directly above the front panel 1 to which the display module 8 is attached and which is in a laid-down orientation, for example, after which the rear panel 5 is brought down as in arrow D in the same figure, and the mating piece 6 thereof is therefore pushed in the inside of the edge frame 3 of the front panel 1. Then, when such a push-in work is performed, the mating piece 6 rides over the protrusions 4 while being flexed and deformed, so the engaging openings 7 respectively mate with the protrusions 4 as this mating piece 6 undergoes deformation recovery. While the engaging openings 7 and the protrusions 4 mate with each other in this manner, the protrusions 4 are engaged with the engaging openings 7 at these mating locations, so it is not very likely to have a situation in which the front panel 1 comes off of the rear panel 5 at these mating locations. Note that the work of joining the front panel 1 and the rear panel 5 by the first fixing mechanism is performed after performing the joining work using the second fixing mechanism 2.
On the other hand, when a need for reworking arises, a disassembly process is performed which involves the work of releasing the joined state by the second fixing mechanism 2 after releasing the joined state by the first fixing mechanism at the joining locations. With regard to the work of releasing the joined state by the second fixing mechanism 2, there is no choice but to strip off the engaging openings 7 in the mating piece 6 from the protrusions 4 on the side of the front panel 1 and to cause these engaging openings 7 to be forcibly disengaged from the protrusions 4 through the operation of pulling up the rear panel 5 as shown by arrow U in FIG. 6.
Because of this, in the conventional example, the protruding width of the protrusions 4 from the edge frame 3 is set such that the mating piece 6 can ride over the protrusions 4 with the push-in operation of the mating piece 6 during the assembly process and also such that the engaging openings 7 in the mating piece 6 can be disengaged from the protrusions 4 through the operation of stripping the engaging openings 7 off of the protrusions 4 during the disassembly process.
Meanwhile, it is indicated in a prior art example that a cabinet is joined using male screws with a frame-form holding body that sandwiches the peripheral portion of a liquid crystal panel between the holding body and a frame in a thin liquid crystal display device (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-151112, especially FIG. 2).
It is indicated in another prior art example that in the structure of a housing for a video display device, if the housing and the display unit are fixed using claws, attachment and detachment for repair or the like become difficult, that the display unit and the main body case are fixed by screw fastening using fixing clasps, and the like (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-191407 (0007 and FIG. 4)).
Furthermore, yet another prior art example shows the structure of a cabinet for a thin display device formed by inserting protruding portions on the upper end portion of the front cabinet between recessed portions in the upper end portion of a front cover and projecting pieces on the upper end portion of the rear cabinet and causing the protruding and recessed portions to interlock (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-298964, especially, FIG. 6).